AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Takes Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 245,503 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,879,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.07% of Interpublic Group of Companies as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 32,702 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 4,538 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 150,283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 251,209 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,039,000 after purchasing an additional 97,877 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,715 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Private Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $27.57. The company had a trading volume of 5,280,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,118,090. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.79. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.30 and a 52 week high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Profile

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.